A New Beginning
by Les Miserabby
Summary: Sequel to Identities. It has been a year since the War of the Ring, and Mordor is beginning to haunt Rana's thoughts, as are thoughts of her family. The search is on with new beginnings, adventures, and challenges for our heroes. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**Why hello again! Welcome to the not-so-long-awaited sequel to _Identities_. Thanks to those who reviewed that story, and I hope you continue to read. Anyway, this is set a year later, and introduces one or two new characters, maybe more, haven't decided yet. **

**Full summary: It has been a year since the War of the Ring, and Mordor is beginning to haunt Rana's thoughts, as are thoughts of her family, which may have one more member than she'd originally thought. The search is on with new beginnings, adventures, and challenges for our heroes. Will Rana find her family? Will Malinaduial and Caranduin _ever_ be entirely comfortable with their new relationship? Read to find out.**

A New Beginning

_Prologue_

A golden-haired elven woman hurried through a land of ash, shadow, making sure that a smaller blond elven girl was keeping up. She was grateful that the orcs weren't around at the moment, it would make their escape easier. It had been simple enough get out of Barad-dur, as Sauron hd not been paying attention to her or her small, blond-haired daughter that was now travelling with her at the time.

But only one of her twin daughters would escape with her. Lithil would be left behind. Sauron had been too close to Lithil; he was always too close to Lithil for her to get close to her other daughter. Lithil, her black-haired daughter. Lithil, whom Sauron had taken a liking to, who he watched constantly, who he had begun to call Morwen, and was almost always training to be like him: an evil killer. She prayed that even without her to watch over her and guide her, Lithil would turn out all right.

But she knew that Merilineth would be fine. If they could get out. But getting out appeared to be simple at that moment. It was made easier by the fact that Sauron was easily getting to Lithil, resulting in him practically ignoring herself and Merilineth, which was most certainly a good thing.

Merilineth. Her blond daughter, kind and gentle, untainteed by Sauron. He had tried to get to both of them, but had given up on Merilineth when she showed no interest or promise in the skills he wanted her to learn. Unlike Lithil, who had shown nothing but unchangeable curiosity and promise in fighting.

Unfortunately, Merilineth might need to learn fighting as well as healing, the skill she showed most prmise in. As much as she hate to think of it, her poor, gentle daughter might need to learn to fight whether she wanted to or not.

"Naneth, where are we going?" Merilineth asked her. There was a small trace of confusion in her voice, as well as plenty of fear.

"Anywhere but here, sell vell. Somewhere safe," she replied. "I promise you."

"But _where_?" Merilineth asked again. "Lothlorien?"

"I don't know, Merilineth, let's just get away from here first," she answered.

In her heart, Ithiloth knew that she and her daughter could never go back to Lothlorien, or any other well known elven homeland again. Sauron may look for them there. They would have to go somewhere hidden, far from Sauron and his lies. But Sarnril might still be there...

Her fifteen year-old blond daughter looked at her in concern. "Nana?"

"I'm fine, sell vell," she replied.

"I think we're lost, nana, which way leads out?" Merilineth asked, fear in her voice.

"I'm not sure, sell vell, but we must keep going. We'll get out of hear eventually, I'm certain of it," Ithileth promise, holding her daughter close. "I promise."

* * *

><p><em>"Naneth, I want out of here!" a young, blond, elleth of about fiteen whimpered in fear. "I hate this place."<em>

_"Don't worry, we'll get out, I promise. but we have to head back, towards the gate. I will not risk Cirith Ungol, not with you with me," replied another blond elleth who looked somewhat similar to the younger, childish one. _

_"I knew it, we _are_ lost!" the younger one cried out in horror._

_"No, we aren't lost, at least, not that lost. We don't need to go out through the Black Gate or Cirith Ungol. although I will admit that climbing out will be difficult." The older blond elleth looked very concerned._

_"Climbing? _Here?_" The younger elf seemed horrified by the thought._

_The older elf froze at a rather frightening sound. "Orcs. Come, sell vell, we must go, now."_

_The younger elleth nodded as they began to flee. The older one stopped for a moment and looked back, farewell, Lithil. Gi melin," she murmured before turning back to join her daughter..._

Rana awoke from the dream in shock. Who had that woman been, and who was her daughter? Why did they seem familiar? And what had they been doing in Mordor?

She rolled over and slipped out of bed. She stood and headed to the balcony. It was still night. She looked up at the stars and moon. She tried to remember her mother. She barely could. Had that elleth in her dream been her mother? It was the only explanation she could think of. And if that were the case, did that mean she had a sister?

For the past year, she had lived in Minas Tirith in peace. For the past year, there had been almost no sign of orcs. Sauron was defeated. Sauron was gone, dead, never to return.

Anwyn and Boromir were soon to be married, and as for Eowyn and Faramir, it was the same. Caranduin and Malinaduial were still getting used to their feelings for each other.

And as for herself and Legolas...

They wanted to marry, but they had to find her parents first for a proper ceremony. Other than that, things were fine.

She sighed as her dream returned. If it had been her mother, what had happened next? had the orcs caught her and the other blond elleth that may or may not have been her sister? Or had they escaped? And if they had escaped, where had they gone?

She had to know. She was tempted to leave immediately, but knew she couldn't. What about Legolas and Malinaduial, and her other friends as well?

But at the same time, the more time she spent there, the less chance she had of finding her family. If it wasn't too late already. She hope it wasn't too late.

She felt torn in half. Half of her wanted to stay, while half of her wanted to leave. And somewhere, some part of her regretted everything. There were times that she felt she was wrong, and that Sauron had left some mark on her that she didn't know about. And this was one of those times.

She'd thought her inner struggles had ended when she'd chosen the Fellowship and Legolas, chosen to be who she wanted to be.

But they hadn't. She'd been discovering that bit by bit recently. She was still fighting mentally. It seemed that she ha spent a little too much time in Mordor, and Sauron had affected her more than she'd thought. She wished that the bit of her that was still Morwen would die and go away. But it wouldn't.

She closed her eyes and tried to recall her mother. Only the dream appeared clearly, other memories were faded snatches. She was hardly surprised; she'd rarely seen her mother after she'd turned seven, and Ithiloth had vanished when she was fifteen. Then when she was twenty-seven, there had been the battle that had cost Sauron his physical form.

But everything was fine now. There was peace at last. Almost eerything wsa perfect to her. when she found her parents, everything would be truly perfect to her.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Black. Her hair was black. Those were Rana's thoughts as she pulled a brush through her long, black hair. Black. From what Haldir had told her, her parents were both blond. She remembered her mother as being blond. She'd been blond in the dream the night before. The other elleth that she'd begun to think of as her sister was blond as well. Yet her own hair was black, black as night.

Was that Sauron's doing? Had he worked some sort of magic to permanently make her hair as black as night? She sighed and put down the brush before beginning to braid part of her hair. But she couldn't focus, so she gave up after about a minute or so.

She forced her memory back as far as she could, trying to remember whether or not she'd had a sister, trying to place the younger elleth in her dream. She was certain that f tehre was a memory of the younger blond elf, it would be very old as she had somehow forgotten her. There was only one faint memory, barely a shadow even.

_She is with her sister, sitting in a room with their mother, listening to a story. It is the tale of Beren and Luthien, her sister's favourite story because of the heroic actions of the characters and the romance. She herself is barely paying attention, feeling nothing but disinterest for the story and boredom. She would rather practice fighting. They are about ten years old._

_Sauron then enters and sees, and is furious. He begins to yell at their mother about spoiling her with silly stories that have no point or meaning in Mordor, but essentially ignores her sister, who is clearly terrified and concerned for their mother, the target of Sauron's anger. She herself feels a little concern for their mother, who is staring at Sauron with wide eyes and a slightly frightened expression, but not as much as her sister, who appears to be near tears out of fear and concern. Sauron has already begun to taint her with his evil..._

She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself after the terrifying memory. It didn't matter. Sauron was destroyed. He had been for a year now. The dream was only stirring up bad thoughts, that was all. She then opened her eyes, and saw her reflection in the mirror.

Despite her black hair, her eyes were green. Most elves had blue eyes, or grey, but there were some with green eyes. That was something Sauron hadn't changed about her. Her 'sister' had green eyes as well, she recalled from the dream and faint memory.

Another thing was that she wasn't evil, like he'd been. Sure, she had been fooled by him; after all, he'd practically raised her after her first fifteen years, but not long after she'd left, she'd changed for the better. She had change despite being in Mordor for over two thousand years.

And now she had good friends, and was with Legolas, who loved her. Legolas.

It had been almost a year since he'd asked her to marry him. However, they hadn't even had an official betrothal yet. They hadn't exchanged silver rings or promised to marry each other traditionally. They'd decided to wait until they found her parents.

Within that year, they hadn't even started their search. There had been to much to do with rebuilding in Minas Tirith, and fending off the few orcs who had decided to try to take vengeance. There were probably still hundreds of orcs roaming freely, despite killing off several of them, but those left hadn't yet caused trouble. She hoped it would stay that way.

Also within that year, or, to be more specific, the past few months, she'd begun dreaming of her past. Last night had been the first dream that hadn't involved herself.

Rana allowed herself then to think about her 'sister' again. What had her name been? She though it started with an 'm', but that was all she could recall.

And on the topic of names, had her mother really named her Morwen? Or had Sauron simply called her that? If it had been only Sauron, she was glad it hadn't been something in the Black Speech of Mordor, but Sindarin.

She sighed as she looked at her reflection. It was almost the same as it had been over a year ago, when she had joined the Fellowship as 'Sauron's daughter', pretending not to be 'herself' but Rana, an identity she'd created. Now Rana was herself.

Her hair was as black as ever, her eyes were still green, as always, and her face still pale. But now her eyes held kindness, her expression slightly softer than the cold, hard hatred that had shown before when she'd belieed she was Sauron's daughter.

Instead of the black and red dress she'd been wearing the day she'd met the 'enemies' who had become some of her best friends, she was wearing a dark green tunic with brown leggings, and outfit that had become typical for her to wear, as she hated dresses and aoided them whenever possible. In the nearly two years since joining the Fellowship, somehow more than her appearance had altered. Her personality had changed somewhat, too.

She was still stubborn, proud, and occaisionally sarcastic with a fiery temper, but she was more like the other eles now than an ally of Mordor She was much kinder now than she had been. Much had changed since leaing Mordor.

She was almost a different elf than she had been before.

She stood and walked away, leaving her room, headed for the stable. She was going riding with Malinaduial, Nenell, Merileth, Eowyn and Anwyn.

On the way to the stable, she spotted Malinaduial, her best friend.

"Suil, Lothel," Rana said to her friend, using her nick-name for the other elf.

"Suil, Rivornith," Malinaduial greeted, using her nick-name for Rana.

"How are you?" Rana asked as they walked to the stable together.

"I am well," Malinaduial replied with a smile. "And yourself?"

Rana shrugged. "Been better, been worse." The last part he added as an attempt to reassure her friend, but it was in vain. Malinaduial knew her too well for it to work.

"What happened, Rana?" she asked, ignoring the nickname, making the conersation more serious.

Rana sighed. "I dreamt of Mordor." Seeing Malinaduial's shocked expression, she took a deep breath to elaborate in explanation. "Well, it took place in Mordor. I think it was of my mother, but I last sw her when I was about fourteen, maybe fifteen, and I only glimpsed her. The other one would hae seen her more often, I bet."

Malinaduial blinked in conusion. "Other one?"

Rana stopped walking, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. "The elf I think was my mother wasn't the only elf in the dream. There was another elf there. She was blonde. She looked exactly like me, other than that. And she was about the right age. She looked to be about fifteen, which was how old I was when my mother left. I think she may hae been my sister."

Malinaduial didn't respond, clearly unsure of what to say in response. The two resumed walking in silence for a minute or so before Malinaduial spoke again.

"So, Eowyn and Faramir's wedding is in two weeks," she said cheerfully, switching the topic to much lighter affairs. At least, lighter in some ways.

Rana's stomach squirmed at the thought of what Malinaduial was hinting at. "I know. And?" she asked, half knowing the answer, but praying that she was wrong.

"And, what are you planning on wearing?" asked Malinaduial, raising an eyebrow as they once again stopped walking.

Rana shrugged. "Something nice." She then glanced down at her leggings and tunic, then glanced back up at Malinaduial, a hopeful smile on her face.

Malinaduial's eyebrow raised higher. "I see," she said in a thin voice. "I'm sure we can find you something nicer to wear."

Rana groaned inwardly. "Malina, _please_," she pleaded. "If I have to wear a dress, can I at least pick it out by myself?"

"All right, you get the final say, but I'm helping you," Malinaduial sighed. "It can be as simple as you like, as long as it's appropriate for the occaision." She looked at what Rana was currently wearing, the same outfit she wanted to wear to the wedding. "Although, I must admit, almost anything is more appropriate than that."

* * *

><p>"So, how does it feel knowing your wedding is only a couple of weeks away, Eowyn?" asked Anwyn as their group rode across the Pelennor.<p>

Eowyn shrugged. "I am a bit nervous," she admitted. "Although, other than that I feel the same as always."

The women, mortal and immortal, paused halfway between Minas Tirith and Osgiliath.

"Have you chosen a dress yet?" Malinaduial asked her curiously. "Please tell me you have, it's important!" Rana rolled her eyes. Trust Malinaduial to think of that first.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Malina, but no. I'm planning on making it, and man to start when we get back. You're welcome to help me make it, if you want, though," Eowyn replied with a smile. Malinaduial squealed in delight, and Rana and Anwyn bothe struggled not to laugh.

"It's so beautiful here," Nenell murmured, changing the topic. She, Haldir, and their daughter, Merileth, had decided to stay at Minas Tirith despite Haldir being the March Warden, as most of the elves of Lothlorien were sailing now. Nearly half had already sailed to Valinor, and more sailed daily.

They weren't the only elves of Lothlorien who had stayed; Oron, the elf who had danced with Merileth during the celebrations after Aragorn's coronation and wedding, had stayed as well, likely out of loe for Merileth. The two certainly spent a lot of time together, Rana noted.

Merileth nodded in agreement. "It is, although I still miss Lothlorien."

As far as Rana was concerned, everywhere was equally beautiful in comparrison to Mordor. The dark place was frequently on her mind, accompanied by thoughts of the family she'd never truly known. She wondered if she should tell Legolas.

She knew she probably should tell the elf that she loved, but how would she tell him? She didn't know if she could bring herself to tell him that memories of the place were causing her worse pain than before. He would probably be upset.

She was beginning to wonder if the overwhelming memories were somehow related to her determination to find her family. She didn't doubt it. It only made sense. If that were the case, she hoped that when she found her family, the aweful memories would stop.

* * *

><p>Legolas stood alone in Minas Tirith at the courtyard of stone. There was something wrong with Rana. He knew it. He could tell.<p>

Something was upsetting her, but she hadn't told him what. He could see it in her eyes. He wouldn't outright ask her what was wrong though, he would let her tell him on her own time.

He had his suspisions though. She seemed to be going out of her way to avoid so much as looking at where Mordor ad been, and when she did look towards it, she seemed to have a burning desire and curiosity in her eyes, as though there was something important there.

The behaviour had started only a few months ago. Whatever had triggered it, he didn't know. He hoped that she would tell him if it became serious. He didn't want her to suffer alone if she was upset.

Another hope was that soon they'd be able to find out where her family was. The sooner they found them, the sooner they could marry.

He loved Rana, more and more each day. It had been that way since he'd first met her, as he knew now. Despite their rocky beginning when she'd been scheming to kill not only him, but the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring in order to retrieve the One Ring for Sauron, his feelings towards her had still grown. And he didn't doubt that it had been any different for her.

But when didn't matter to him. All he knew was that at some point in time, he'd fallen in love with her, and that wasn't going to change, no matter what. He hoped that whatever was wrong, she would be better soon. If she wasn't, he didn't know what he would do.

A thought then crossed his mind. Did it have something to do with her family? It made sense, but he sense that there might be a bit more to it than that. But as far as her family was concerned, he hoped to leave soon. The sooner thay left, the sooner they'd find her family, and the sooner they found them, the better.

**Translations:**

**Sindarin- English**

Suil- Greetings


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A blond elf walked through the trees near Fangorn Forest. Her eyes flicked around curiously. They were bright green.

She watched the area around her warily, uncertainly. She knew that there was a chance of orcs, although in Fangorn, that was unlikely. The orcs knew that the trees would kill them, and if they didn't they would find out soon after entering.

Besides, in the past year, the orcs had essentially disbanded. They were now scattered, disorderly. They had been ever since the fall of Sauron and Mordor.

Because Sauron had been defeated, it was now safe for herself and her mother to come out of hiding, which they'd been doing for the past thousands of years, ever since she was fifteen. She recalled their nearly unsuccessful escape from Mordor. The orcs had nearly caught them that day, or night, or whatever it had been. You couldn't tell in Mordor, it was too dark.

Here, it was lighter, more natural. She'd never seen it until she was sixteen, but fell in love with the trees immediately, upon first sight. Now she doubted she could ever bear to part with them.

For a moment, she wondered what had happened to the sister she hadn't seen in centuries. Had she fallen along with Sauron, or realized her mistake and left him? She wondered if she'd ever know. She barely remembered Lithil. Lithil had black hair. That was the only physical difference between them that she remembered. Lithil, or Morwen as Sauron had taken to calling her, had also been incredibly curious and had taken to archery and sword-fighting rather quickly when Sauron had begun to teach her. Sauron had managed to sway Lithil rather quickly, but upon discovering that she herself was more interested in healing and had no talent for fighting like her sister, he'd begun to ignore her, focusing only on Lithil. She wondered if Lithil could remember her. She doubted it. Sauron would probably stomp any of those memories out of her head. Lithil would probably remember her mother, though, as Sauron would need to find some way to explain her existence.

"Merilineth?" asked a familiar voice. One of the few voices she'd known since leaving Mordor, and the only one that had been there constantly.

"I'm here, naneth. What is it?" Merilineth asked her mother.

"There are orcs nearby, I wanted to make sure you were all right."

Merilineth sighed. "Naneth, please remember that even if I don't like fighting, I am still fully capable of defending myself."

"I know that," her mother replied, concern in her blue eyes. "But I worry about you. As far as I know, you're all I have left."

Merilineth closed her eyes for a moment. She knew that her mother, Ithiloth, was right. Lithil had been left in Mordor with Sauron, as they couldn't get her out. Ithiloth had been captured and forced away from Sarnril, her husband, and they had no clue where he was.

"I promise you, I'll be careful mother," Merilineth vowed, clasping her mother's hand. "You won't lose me." Her mother sighed in relief. Merilineth was thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "You know, naneth, now that Sauron is defeated forever and the war is over, we could look for them, adar and sister."

Ithiloth nodded. "I know, but where would we begin? We have no idea where to look."

"We could look for adar in Lothlorien first. That was where you last saw him," Merilineth mused.

Ithiloth sighed. "That implies that we should search Mordor for Lithil, as that's where we last saw her."

Merilineth was doubtful. "If Lithil came to her senses, she'll have left Mordor. I don't think we should look for her there. Besides, how would we get there?"

"True." She sighed. "If only you hadn't had such a difficult life."

Merilineth shook her head. "No, if anything, this life has made me stronger."

Rana sighed as she crossed the courtyard of stone one week after the dream. Unsurprisingly, there gad been more dreams, as there had been for a few months, but none like the one a week ago. She glanced at the white tree, the tree of kings. It was truly majestic with its blossoms and white branches. She passed the tree, headed for the far end, where she'd be able to look out over the Pelennor, to Osgiliath, and beyond. She knew she would glimpse Mordor, the dark land that was now abandoned and empty. At the moment she didn't care though. She needed to clear her head, and didn't feel like riding.

She was trying to avoid riding alone as much as possible. She felt that if she were to ride alone, temptation would win over and she'd ride away from Minas Tirith, from Gondor even, in search of her family. The result was that Morbein was annoyed with her for not riding as often as she had before. But then, Morbein had always been a stubborn mare, to the point where Rana sometimes wondered if her personality had somehow rubbed off on her horse.

As her gaze fell on where the ruin of the abandoned land of Mordor lay, the thoughts all came back to her. Her long life there, her mother that she barely remembered, the father she'd never known, the sister she'd entirely forgotten until nearly a week ago. It was too much. She wanted to look away and try to force the thoughts from her head, but she could do neither.

"Are you all right?" How had she not heard him coming? Rana shut her eyes and didn't respond. The last thing she wanted was to lie to him. "Rana?"

"Yes, Legolas, I'm fine," she whispered as his arms wrapped around her waist from behind, knowing it was a lie. But she didn't know how to explain the truth to him.

She allowed herself to relax in his arms, trying to clear her mind of the thoughts that were still swirling in her head. She tried to focus on just herself and Legolas and the moment, eventually succeeding. She sighed contentedly. Two years ago, if anyone had told her she'd end up being in love with Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, she would probably have killed them. And yet, there she was, wrapped in his arms and happily in love with him.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" he murmured. She could feel his breath close to her ear as he whispered the words.

"Yes," she whispered in response, her heart racing. He suspected that she was keeping things from him. She should have known he'd notice. He knew her just as well as Malinaduial did, and there was no keeping secrets from her best friend. Why should Legolas be any different? But at the same time, Legolas meant more to her, making telling him things a little more difficult.

"Gi melin," Legolas murmured softly to her.

"Gi melin," she murmured in response, turning in his arms to face him. She could see concern in his bright blue eyes, confirmation of her suspicions that he was worried about her. She forced a smile, hoping it was convincing but doubting it. "I'm fine Legolas, really, I am."

She could see in his eyes that he doubted her, didn't believe her. But he said nothing, just continued to look at her with concern in his eyes. He probably wanted to say something to her about what was wrong, but was waiting for her to tell him there was something wrong.

He eventually sighed, then spoke. "We'll probably be able to leave soon to search for your parents."

She was surprised at the words, as she hadn't been expecting them. "Really?" she breathed. She couldn't believe it. Ater a year, the journey to find her family would finally begin. Almost doubtingly, she searched his eyes but found only honesty.

He nodded, a little concern still in his eyes. "You're sure that you're all right?" he asked again after a few moments. From his voice, she could tell that he didn't fully believe her.

She nodded in what she hoped was a convincing way. "Yes, Legolas, I am fine."

He studied her doubtfully for a moment before speaking again. "If that changes you'll tell me, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. She was lying to him and she knew it. She felt guilty about it, but she didn't know how to explain it to him. And to make things worse, he could probably tell that she was lying. She closed her eyes and looked downward, knowing that he knew her too well for it to work. He could probably see her nervousness in her eyes as well as she could see the concern in his.

Legolas sighed. "Rana, I know you're upset about something. Please, tell me."

She sighed and took a deep breath. There was no avoiding telling him now. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't know how," she whispered. "I keep dreaming of Mordor for some reason. It's been haunting me for the past few months. It's mostly memories. And then a week ago I dreamt of something that wasn't a memory. I think it was my mother, and someone else, I think she may have been my sister. They were trying to escape. But it was so long ago, I was about fifteen when my mother left, and I rarely saw her or my sister, who I've almost entirely forgotten now, I just don't know..."

Legolas held her close, knowing how upsetting it must be for her to keep dreaming of Mordor, the last place in Middle Earth she wanted to remember so frequently. Her arms were around his neck, her head resting gently on his chest. He raised one hand to gently stroke her hair, tucking a loose lock back behind her ear, away from her face.

"Everything's going to be fine, I promise," he murmured. "We'll find them, soon most likely. I promise." He gently kissed the top of her head.

"Gi melin, Legolas," she whispered.

"Gi melin," he murmured in response. Their lips met. The kiss lasted a few seconds before they pulled apart, still in eachother's arms.

Rana sighed. She felt safe there, wrapped in his arms. He loved her, and that would never change. They would soon be able to leave to find her family. Everything was fine.

**Translations:**

**Sindarin- English**

Gi melin- I love you

Naneth- mother

**Well, I didn't reach my goal of 2000 words, but more than 1600 is close enough. I think I might be starting to get the hang of the romance thing. Although the second I get into it I don't know how to get out. It's a trap for me. So I still need to work on it. Review please! They make me happy. Also, thank you for positive feedback on the last few chapters. As with all first chapters to my fanfics, those chapters were major nail-biters when it came to reviews.**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Osgiliath is under attack!"

Those words pulled Rana out of her thoughts and sent her racing from her room towards the hall. She wasn't the only one to have heard the soldier's shouted, panicked words. Several within hearing range had raced over to find out what was happening.

Arwen, Nenell, Haldir, Gimli, Boromir, Faramir, Anwyn, Eowyn, Caranduin, Malinaduial, Merileth, Oron, and Legolas were already there, as well as a few others.

Aragorn stood and stepped forward. "What?" Everyone was surprised by the statement. Ever since Sauron had been destroyed, there had been few sightings of orcs, and fewer attacks. And none of the attacks had been on major locations like Osgiliath, just small villages.

"Osgiliath. It's under attack from a band of orcs. There are too many. We need help."

"And you will get it," Aragorn assured him. "We cannot allow the orcs to help themselves to our lands, especially with Sauron destroyed." He glanced around the room, eyes settling on his friends.

"You don't even need to ask," Gimli told him. "I'm in! I've missed killing orcs the past year."

"I'll go as well," Rana agreed. "For the same reason as Gimli."

The others all had similar things to say, although Malinaduial was a little reluctant. Within five minutes, they, along with a few Gondorian soldiers, were riding to Osgiliath.

"Why are they attacking?" Malinaduial questioned curiously. Rana figured that it was a rhetorical question. No one could answer it accurately. Caranduin tried anyway.

"Probably because they have nothing better to do and are sadistic like Sauron," he replied, half muttering.

"But the orcs were once elves," Malinaduial replied stubbornly, the sometimes-shown part of her that couldn't help but feel sympathy towards everyone and everything suddenly shining through, as it sometimes would.

Rana cringed slightly. It was true, the orcs had been elves once. But they'd been taken into darkness and had been twisted, mutilated, transformed. They felt nothing but hatred now, and despised sunlight. They were evil. That was all that they were now, however much Malinaduial might want to believe otherwise. Unfortunately, it was Caranduin who told her that, though, and not in the gentlest way that he possibly could.

"True, but they aren't elves now. They will kill you if they can. Malina, try to remember that." He looked at her curiously as they rode towards Osgiliath, drawing closer. "And why re you feeling hesitant now? You never did when we hunted orcs before."

"Because then, Sauron was commanding them. They're free now. They could change," Malinaduial replied, determined to see goodness everywhere she looked. She'd been that way for a while, ever since Sauron had been destroyed. She clearly wanted to believe that Sauron was the last bad thing that would ever happen to Middle Earth.

"They haven't and they won't. They're too far gone," Caranduin replied shortly and unsympathetically, his voice cold.

"Rana changed," Malinaduial reminded Caranduin. Rana winced and glanced at Legolas, who gave her a sympathetic look as she was dragged into the argument.

"She wasn't tormented and transformed into an orc," Caranduin retorted.

"Well, it looks like we're almost there," Rana said quickly, changing the topic. "I can hear the fighting. Looks like fun."

"Oh, you're just as bad as Caranduin!" Malinaduial said, glaring at Rana "How can you find this fun?"

"So much for changing the topic," Rana muttered, loud enough for Malinaduial to hear. The words calmed her down a bit. She guessed it was because they had assured Malinaduial that it had been a joke.

They entered the city, throwing themselves into the fight. With the now combined forces of Osgiliath and Minas Tirith, the orcs were overwhelmed. The battle didn't last long because of that. Within ten minutes, the orcs were either dead or fleeing.

"Well, that was easy," Rana muttered, watching as the last orcs tried to flee, only to find themselves killed by arrows from above. "Cowards."

"You fought well," Legolas commented, walking over to Rana. The black haired elleth turned her attention from surveying the battle field to her love.

"As did you," she replied with a small smile. He kissed her cheek.

"Soon the orcs will be gone from Middle Earth forever," Legolas said happily.

"I doubt that, there will always be more of them. They were once elves. There are male and female orcs," Rana reminded him gently.

"True, but we can still wipe them out," Legolas persisted. "Or at least drive them from Middle Earth. Send them South, far away from Gondor, Rohan, and Arnor."

"They might come back."

"Why are you being so negative?" Legolas asked her, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.

"I'm being realistic," Rana replied stubbronly, her ow green eyes narrowing in annoyance.

The two were suddenly glaring at each other. Both were too stubborn to admit that the other might be right.

Caranduin and Malinaduial walked over cheerfully to them, seeming to have sorted out their own differences. Their faces fell when they saw Legolas and Rana glaring at each other.

"Legolas, what did you do now?" Caranduin asked.

"Why do you automatically assume that it's my fault?" Legolas asked his brother, turning away from Rana.

"Maybe because it usually is. After all, you tend not to think first. You just act," Malinaduial replied matter-of-factly before Caranduin could say anything.

Legolas had to admit, although grudgingly, that she was right. He remembered the stupid things he had done during the War of the Ring, such as randomly kissing Rana during the Battle of Helm's Deep. That could have gotten them both killed.

"She has a point, Legolas," Rana said. "So for once, just _try_ to be more thoughtful. Maybe then you'll realize that I'm right about the orcs."

"What about orcs?" asked Caranduin, confused. Malinaduials face also bore an expression of confusion.

Legolas thinks we can get rid of them forever, and he fails to see that it's impossible," Rana explained.

"In this case, I think that Rana is right," Caranduin told Legolas. Malinaduial nodded in agreement.

"She has to be. How else could Sauron have had endless armies of them? He wasn't continuously capturing elves and torturing them to the point where they were orcs. And Morgoth didn't take enough elves for endless armies in the first place," Malinaduial reasoned. "Destroying the orcs forever is impossible." Her eyes shone with excitement suddenly. "So for now, let's focus on a decent, reasonable quest."

"And that would be what?" asked Legolas.

Malinaduial grinned. "Finding Rana's family."

* * *

><p>Merilineth stood in Fangorn Forest alone, her blue eyes shut carefully. Her mind was cleared entirely. She was calm, breathing evenly. She focused on one thing alone: her long lost sister.<p>

At times, when she was completely focused and not distracted, she could almost see Lithil, with her long black hair and bright green eyes. Almost. The images were typically faded. She wondered if Lithil could see her as well, if it was some sort of connection they had because they were twins.

She hadn't used the connection for over a year, since the time when Lithil had been with the orcs on her way to Rivendell. So she had no idea where Lithil would be at that point in time.

Lithil suddenly appeared in her mind. She was with a few other elves. She knew her sister immediately, despite the faded image. Her hair was long and black, her eyes a bright green. Judging by the fact that she was with other elves, it would seem that Lithil had truly left Mordor. That was good. She would need to tell her mother. She would be glad to hear that Lithil had turned on Sauron after so long.

She reopened her blue eyes and quickly gathered her bearings. It was too easy to get turned around in Fangorn when your eyes were closed. But since she hadn't moved since closing her eyes, she quickly figured out where she was.

She turned and walked back the way she'd come. She hoped her mother was still where she'd been earlier. It would make finding her a lot easier. Somehow, she doubted that her mother would still be there, though. She could hardly expect her to stay in one place for so long. Unless she were reading.

As she walked, her mind wandered and she thought about several things. What a normal life would be like, why her mother hadn't decided to go to Mirkwood, Rivendell or Lothlorien after escaping, what it had been like to actually experience the War of the Ring, and the other wars as well. She had missed a lot over the many years of solitude. She wondered whether or not she would ever be able to adjust to a 'normal' life.

Eventually, she reached the area that had become her home. It was a small clearing, with a decent shelter built into a cave. Over the years, she and her mother had made it into a wonderful home. Particularly compared to all of Mordor. It had taken a while, but eventually they had made minor walls with branches that had fallen from the trees naturally, respecting the old woods of Fangorn.

They had also created sort of beds for themselves. Naturally, they had also brought a few possessions with them from Mordor, but not much. They were able to maintain a comfortable life for themselves that way for many long years. Now, thousands of years later, things appeared to be changing.

She entered the cave, and found her mother there, reading a book that she had brought with her from Mordor. Her mother had had the book since she had been quite young and living in Lothlorien. Merilineth was unsure of how many times her mother had read that book over the centuries, but it had to be at least a thousand times.

"Naneth?" she asked. Ithiloth raised her head and looked at her.

"Yes, Merilineth?" she asked calmly, mind still partially on the book she had been reading only a few short moments before.

She took a deep breath and spoke, choosing her words carefully. What she had to say would probably come as a major shock to her mother, after so many years of being away from Lithil. "I saw Lithil. In my mind. She was with other elves, from Mirkwood and Lothlorien. I think they may have been somewhere in Gondor. That means that Lithil is still in Middle Earth. And that she has truly turned her back on Sauron. I- I think she may be searching for us."

Ithiloth seemed unsure of how to respond. For long moments she was silent in her shock, but eventually she spoke. "You think she actually remembers us, after all this time? You were so young when you were separated..."

"I know, Naneth, but that doesn't mean she has forgotten. The memories may have been drowned out by Sauron's lies, but they could still have been there, in the back of her mind. I haven't forgotten her. I don't think she will have forgotten me. Especially now that she is free from Sauron's influence." Merilineth replied stubbornly. She was certain that she was right. She knew, somehow, that her sister truly did remember her, somewhere in her memories. They were twins, how could Lithil possibly have forgotten?

Ithiloth sighed, her eyes closing partly. "I suppose you may be right. But how will she find us?"

"Who says we can't go to her?" Merilineth replied. "We have an idea of where to look for her. So why can't we search for her?"

Ithiloth tilted her head slightly, her long blond hair nearly falling in front of her blue eyes. "True. I hadn't thought of that. But will she even know us when she sees us? It's been such a long time..." She nearly thought her heart would break at the note of longing and sorrow in her mother's voice.

Merilineth narrowed her bright blue eyes and forced herself to remain calm and rational. "She'll know us, Naneth. I know she will. But if for some reason she doesn't, then we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Despite her brave words, her fears were similar to her mother's. Ithiloth was right. It had been many years since they had been separated. And she had to admit, Ithiloth's fears were entirely rational. It was cruel for a mother to be separated forcibly from her child for so long, and after thousands of years, they might finally be reunited.

Of course Ithiloth would have fears. But hopefully, none of the fears would come true, and everything would be fine in the end.


	5. Chapter 4

**I am SO SORRY! Seriously, I am! I can't BELIEVE I nearly forgot about this story! I've been so focussed on, well, other stuff, basically. But I am back now with more after over a month of no updates. Hopefully I will have more again soon. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the update.**

Chapter 4

Merileth was perfectly happy as she rode to Lothlorien for a visit. Though she and her family now lived in Minas Tirith, she still loved Lothlorien. It had been her home for nearly a thousand years, her entire life. So, of course, after a year away, it was only natural for her to be happy about returning for a while.

Especially since the sun was shining like gold in the bright blue sky amongst the beautiful fluffy white clouds, and the temperature was nice and warm with a cool breeze blowing gently. The birds were singing sweetly in the trees as well, perfecting the already perfect moment.

A few squirrels and chipmunks chattered occasionally and ran across the path and scrabbled at the trees. There would be the occasional rabbit or deer as well that would run across the path or be visible in the bush. The animals were all content aand enjoying the nice late summer/early autumn weather. The day was clearly truly perfect.

Although that wasn't all that there was for her to be happy about. Oron, another elf from Lothlorien, seemed to be in love with her. And she knew for a fact that she loved him. In fact, he was with her at that moment as well, much to her delight. She glanced at him and smiled, and he smiled back as their eyes met.

Her future could easily lie with Oron. She was always happy with him, and felt perfect and complete whenever he was at her side. She had difficulty picturing life without him. She wanted to be with him forever and always. She prayed that he loved her the same way that she loved him. If he didn't, she didn't know what she would do.

She couldn't imagine loving anyone else. Oron had to be the one, he just _had_ to be. As she looked into his eyes, she searched desperately for a sign in them that he did love her. There certainly seemed to be something in his eyes. Kindness, compassion, friendship, and, maybe, just maybe, there was love in his eyes as he looked at her. She relaxed, feeling content that there was a certain chance that he did feel the same.

They were half-way to Lothlorien, and that was when they saw the smoke and realized that the birds had fallen silent. They pulled their horses to a halt, and looked curiously at the smoke, which wasn't too far in the distance. They glanced at each other, then dismounted and carefully advanced forward, leading their horses. They got a little further, then spotted the orcs with their elven sight. She narrowed her eyes, uncertain about what it was that she was seeing. She caught her breath when she realized that it wasn't just orcs.

There was a girl there as well, a tall one, almost elven looking. Her hair was thick, and black, falling to just past her shoulders. Her skin was fair, pale, her lips were full and red, perfectly formed. Her eyes were dark, very dark.

A small breeze blew, blowing her hair way, revealing a delicately pointed ear. She was wearing a tunic that could nearly pass for a short dress, as it fell to just below her knees. The tunic was blood red, and a black sash was tied tightly around her slender waist. Her leggings were black as well. She was quite beautiful, really, yet she had a deadly look about her, as if she would kill anyone without a single moments hesitation just for the joy of it. And she appeared to be in charge of the orcs who were responsible for the fire.

She and Oron exchanged a nervous glance before turning and carefully leading their horses away. Once they seemed that they were at a safe enough distance, they mounted and rode away from the forest, not stopping until they reached the edge of the forest and the beginning of the plains of Rohan.

"Who was she?" asked Oron, turning to face Merileth.

Merileth simply shrugged, still slightly in shock. "I don't know. I've never seen her in my life."

Oron nodded. "Same. You know, she looks a little like what I heard Rana looked like when she was first found in the river by the Fellowship."

Merileth narrowed her eyes. "Really?" She tilted her head, a curious look filling her eyes. "You know, you might be right. Actually, I think you are. Somehow, I'm almost positive of it."

Oron nodded. "We should head back to Minas Tirith and let them know. This could be bad. I'm almost certain that that girl – elleth – whoever or whatever she is – is going to be a problem. She looked like she's in charge of those orcs."

Merilith looked slightly fascinated. "Well, whoever she is, Rana might know. After all, she has to have been raised in Mordor. Why else would she have been with those orcs? And how many elves would live in Mordor? Not many. There was Rana, her mother until she disappeared, and maybe one or two others that were randomly serving Sauron. That must have been it. Rana _has_ to know!"

Oron nodded in agreement. "You're right. Rana will know. And if she doesn't, well, we can still handle her. I'm almost certain of it. After all, we defeated Sauron. We can easily deal with whoever this is."

* * *

><p><em>Lithil was young. Very young, still a teenager. She looked to be about seventeen to human eyes, really, she had just turned twenty. Her long black hair fell to directly between her shoulders and her waist. Her bright green eyes were curious. Her pale face was delicately shaped, as was the rest of her slender body, but she was still strong. Her Lothlorien blood inherited from her mother clearly ran strong in her veins. When she was older, she would be very pretty, even to elves. <em>

_But she live far from other elves. And other humans. She lived amongst orcs, and a few cave trolls. There were a few other elves, but they were all evil. They served Sauron, as did everyone else that lived in Mordor. Which was where she was. It had been about twelve years since her mother had taken her sister and left Mordor. Most likely they were dead. One thing was certain, though, and that was that Merilineth and Ithiloth were already fading from her memory they were nearly completely gone already. Sauron had wasted no time in eliminating the two from her life entirely._

_Not that it had been hard. She'd gone days, weeks even at times, without seeing the two. Sauron did not want her to be tainted by their purity at all. He wanted her to be a killer, and nothing but._

_All he had left to do was get rid of that Sindarin name her mother had given her that she clung to: Lithil._

"_Snagabúrz,__" he called. "Come here, darling."_

"_Yes father, what is it?" she asked, running over._

"_It's time for your training in sword fighting," he told her, then gestured to another young girl about the same age, maybe a year or two younger. Her hair was equally black, her skin equally pale. The only two noticeable differences were their heights and eye colour, Lithil, or __Snagabúrz as her father had called her,__ being slightly taller and having green eyes as opposed to brown that were so dark they were nearly black. They were even dressed similarly. "This is __Snaga__burzum, you will be training with her from now on. I hope that you two will become good friends."_

_The two girls looked at each other carefully, studiously for a moment._

"_I have a feeling that we will, father," Lithil replied. Snagaburzum nodded in agreement. Sauron looked rather pleased as he left the two to their training. However, they did not begin to duel immediately. They continued to look at each other, each trying to read the other._

"_So, you're Sauron's daughter," Snagaburzum said carefully, her pretty dark eyes narrowed. "You barely look the part." The way she said the last part made it seem as if she was trying to push her buttons._

_Lithil narrowed her bright green eyes testily. "And exactly what should Sauron's daughter look like? A filthy troll instead of a young lady? I personally think that a filthy troll would be an insult to his greatness."_

_Snagaburzum laughed. "I think you'll do just fine. I believe we'll be great friends"_

"_What makes you think that I think the same way about you?" Lithil retorted. "I am still yet to pass judgement. You seem quick to develop good opinions. That could be dangerous. Do you know nothing?"_

_Snagaburzum raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought that developing opinions quickly was a good thing, especially in battle?"_

_Lithil nodded. "It can be, just as long as you aren't too firm in them. You never know when someone could betray you."_

"_Clever thinking. I think I'll keep that in mind when I go into battle in the future," Snagaburzum commented. "Seems like Sauron is lucky to have you."_

_Lithil smiled. "Thank you for the compliment. You just may be right about the two of us becoming good friends." She then frowned. "Why is it I've never seen you before? How many elves are there here?"_

_Snagaburzum gave her a confused look. "You've never met any of the others?" She then laughed slightly. "No, I suppose not, since Sauron has wanted to keep you safe after that little disaster with your mother."_

"_Well, I did meet one other elf, besides my mother of course, whom I barely remember. My maid, Snagaghâsh. Or Angeth, as she likes to call herself. She may be a willing servant of Sauron, but she still prefers to use Sindarin, at least just between the two of us," Lithil replied. "She even likes me to use Sindarin between the two of us." Her voice held a note of embarrassment at admitting she spoke Sindarin there in Mordor at times._

_Snagaburzum smiled. "Don't be embarrassed, all of us elves speak Sindarin together. It is the natural language of the elves. We may all serve Sauron willingly, but we do not need to speak the Black Speach at all times. After all, it is not as natural to us. Besides, no one outside of Mordor will expect elves to be fighting for Sauron. It is best if we keep in practice in Sindarin in case we ever go out to spy."_

_Lithil nodded, seeing the wisdom in that._

"_So, what is your Sindarin name?" Snagaburzum asked curiously._

"_Lithil. At least, that's what my mother calls me. Sauron – my father – prefers Morwen for when I wish to be named in Sindarin," Lithil replied._

"_All right then, Morwen it is, as Sauron would probably dislike me calling you Lithil," Snagaburzum replied._

"_And you? What is your Sindarin name?" asked Lithil, or Morwen._

_Snagaburzum smiled at her new friend. "Agarlach."_

Rana sat up, gasping for breath. _Lithil_. The name she hadn't heard for centuries. Her name. The name her mother had given her. Her real name. Not Morwen, not that stupid Black Speech name that Sauron had given her, not Rana, but Lithil.

And Agarlach. How had she forgotten her, her first friend other than Angeth, her kind, motherly maid? She and Agarlach had been like twins. Was Agarlach still living? And if she was, then where? She remembered the last time she'd seen the other elleth. It had been the day she'd left. They had agreed that they would see each other again soon. It had now been well over a year, nearly two years since they'd parted.

And what about Caranoron? He had been one of her best friends as well. She recalled how she had given him the nickname of Moron, which could easily mean either dark man or idiot. It had originally been in jest, but it had become a fond title for him. In fact, if she hadn't changed sides, chances were that she-

_No, don't think about it, don't think about that place!_

Rana stood and crossed the room, stepping out onto her balcony and gazing at Minas Tirith, the edges of her long, white nightgown brushing the floor. It was early morning, the sun only just beginning to rise. Pale shades of pink, orange, and violet hinted at the horizon where what was left of Mordor stood met the sky, deep, dark blue covered all else, slowly fading to a paler blue.

Suddenly, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Two figures on horseback were riding towards Minas Tirith from the direction of Lothlorien.

She narrowed her eyes carefully, then her green eyes widened with realization. It was Oron and Merileth. Confusion struck her. They had set out for Lothlorien several days ago, nearly a week, in fact. They couldn't possibly have been there and back so soon. What had happened? Whatever it was, she had a feeling that it was nothing good.

She quickly stepped back inside her room and dressed properly before quickly brushing her long black hair, then stepped outside of her room and hurried to meet up with them. And, of course, on her way she ran into Legolas.

"Since when have you been such an early riser?" he asked her curiously.

"Since Mordor started haunting me again. But that's completely besides the point, there's something wrong with Oron and Merileth," Rana snapped quickly.

"I know, I saw them returning through the window as well," Legolas replied, looking a little surprised by Rana's outburst and tension.

"Well, let's go make sure they're all right and find out why they're back when they should be either in Lothlorien or nearly there by now!" Rana snarled.

"Are you all right?" Legolas asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm fine!"

Legolas sighed and followed her down from their rooms within the citadel to the courtyard that formed the seventh level. Merileth and Oron had clearly ridden as fast as they could, as they reached the courtyard at the same time.

"What happened? Why are you back so soon?" Rana demanded immediately.

"There were orcs. We saw them in a forest halfway to Lothlorien," Merileth replied quickly.

"There was some elleth with them," Oron added, when Merileth said nothing about her. "It looked almost as if she were in charge of the orcs."

Rana suddenly looked even more interested. "What did she look like?" she demanded. Legolas gave her a questioning look, while Oron began the description. "Very pretty, beautiful even. She looked a lot like you, Rana, only with darker eyes. Much darker. A brown so dark it appeared as though they were almost black. Her hair was shorter, too, just below shoulder level, I think." Merileth nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, and she didn't look very peaceful, either, she looked ready to kill anyone without a second thought," Merileth added. "I doubt that she's the type to talk things over peacefully."

"I can't imagine Agarlach ever talking things out peacefully with her enemies," Rana agreed.

"So you _do_ know her! We hoped you would be able to tell us who she was," Merileth replied, relief in her voice.

"Know her? Of _course_ I know her. Agarlach and I were best friends since we were twenty. Others used to call us twins," Rana replied, looking thoughtful as if she were remembering her life back in Mordor.

"Agarlach. Even her name seems terrifying. Blood flame. She really seems like the vicious type," Merileth murmured.

"She always was. She was my better in both archery and sword-fighting for many decades. It took plenty of training to become her equal. I was never better than her with anything. Merely her equal. We really were quite the team. Which is part of why we were considered twins. That and the fact that we look so similar," Rana confirmed. "Believe when I say that she is not someone that you want to be enemies with."

"I'll take your word for it," Merileth said quickly.

Oron was looking at Rana with narrowed eyes. "Exactly how many elves were there in Mordor?"

"Sixteen. Myself, five others near my age, Agarlach included, and ten others who were the parents of the other five," Rana said slowly, recalling every face. "Thank the Valar that Agarlach is alive. I hope that the others are alive."

"You're thankful that potential enemies are alive?" Legolas was surprised.

Rana whipped around and glared at him. "I grew up with them! Five of them were my closest and only friends for most of my life, up until almost two years ago! Of _course_ I'm thankful that Agarlach is alive!"

Legolas kicked himself mentally for forgetting that she'd spent the first more than three thousand years of her life there.

Merileth and Oron exchanged a worried glance. Rana was clearly not in a wonderful mood, and Legolas seemed to be getting on her nerves.

"Of course. I'm sorry, they must have been like a family to you back in Mordor," Legolas murmured carefully, resisting the urge to say more.

Rana looked a little calmer, but was still clearly quite annoyed. "I forgive you," she muttered before walking away, throwing another comment over her shoulder. "I'm going for a ride, I'll be back later."

* * *

><p>Had Legolas been born stupid, or had he needed to work on it? Those were Rana's thoughts as she rode Morbein towards the as-of-yet still-in-ruins Osgiliath. The city appeared to be in a state where it would never be properly rebuilt. It had been attacked a few times over the past year while men attempted to rebuild it. At that moment, it was completely empty. Rana liked it that way. It meant she was free to just stay there alone with Morbein and her thoughts. At that particular moment, she was thinking about her dream and Legolas. In the dream, her name had been Lithil.<p>

_Lithil_. She had forgotten that part of her. The young, mostly untainted, innocent girl who had been a child. Then, in her youth, when she had become a teenager, that had been the teenager. Her mother had left. She'd been eight when her mother had left, but Angeth had mothered her. Kept her somewhat innocent. But over the years, as she had become a teenager, she had changed. Begun to become Morwen, or Snagabúrz as Sauron had sometimes called her, using her Black-Speech name.

Then, some three-thousand one-hundred and some years later, she had left Mordor to retrieve the Ring after the Ring-Wraiths had failed. And she herself had also failed, but for different reasons. She had made friends, and begun to fall in love, much to her distaste.

She still couldn't believe that she had fallen in love. And with Legolas, of all elves. _Legolas_. She would have been fine if it had been Caranoron, one of her other best friends.

Was he still alive as well, somewhere out there? And what about Lithuinir and Norrin? And Angeth? Were they all right as well? And all of the others? She prayed that they were. She couldn't imagine the world without them. She prayed that they would all meet again. She didn't want a single one of them to be dead.

She sighed as she dismounted in Osgiliath and climbed up one of the ruined buildings and perched herself there, and gazed at the sunrise.

The sun was peeking out over the ruins of Mordor far in the East, and the sky near it was violet, orange, and pinkish red. It was beautiful. She loved to watch the sunrise from Osgiliath. It wasn't the same anywhere else in her opinion. Osgiliath was the best place to watch it.

It was the same with the sunset in the West. It seemed more majestic to watch it set behind Minas Tirith, illuminating the white city in more colour than it ever was, turning the white to golden orange, pink, and violet. She loved the sunrise and sunset. She never had seen it in Mordor, as Mordor was always covered in shadow. There had been no sun at all, it seemed.

The world was more beautiful outside of Mordor, and she was happily appreciating it now. At the moment, she was quite content. Then thoughts of Legolas struck her again.

Why had she had to fall in love with him? He was annoying, irritating, at times he could seem overprotective, which drove her crazy, and he was almost always _there_, always close to her, except for when she was asleep or managed to escape for a while, like now. Not that it happened often, unfortunately.

To top it off, she wasn't even sure she wanted to be in love anymore. At first, it had been nice to have someone care about her so much. It almost reminded her of Caranoron and their friendship, only stronger. More romantic. The feelings had been new to her, and she had liked them. Now she wasn't so sure.

Love scared her now. She felt like she had been naive, foolish. But she didn't know if she should tell Legolas. She sighed. She needed to talk to Malinaduial, she could help her. Malinaduial would know what to do. She hoped.


	6. Chapter 5

**Heheh, hi there... Sorry for not updating since November. It's June now. I know, I know, I suck with updates, but I've been busy. Really. Grade 11. But school's over now, so other than my mega-popular Warriors fanfic and a few fanfics in a series that I'm cowriting, this will be top priority now, I swear! Ok?**

Chapter 5**  
><strong>

However, Rana never went back to Minas Tirith. Instead, she rode at top speed to where Oron and Merileth had seen Agarlach. Somehow, she couldn't resist. She knew that she shouldn't go looking for her, but she couldn't help it. She missed her long-lost friend, her twin.

From what Merileth had said, it was a two day ride. But Merileth didn't have Morbein. And Merileth also hadn't only been carrying a sword and bow. Rana did.

So she rode Morbein as fast as she could away from Minas Tirith and towards Lothlorien, not caring at all that eventually, soemone would notice that she was gone. Oh, she planned to return eventually, and when she did, then she would discuss her Legolas problems with Malinaduial.

She suddenly felt guilty. She had compared Legolas to Caranoron, and she planned to marry Legolas. But could she still go through with it?

And why was she suddenly more worried about her friends that were Dark Elves than she was of the family that she had lost? How could she do such a thing?

Why did her life have to be so complicated now? Before, it had been easy. But then, she had been living under the shadow of a lie. Nothing had been as she'd thought it was. Was living a lie better than living a complicated life of truth? Sure, the lie was easier, but was it really worth it?

_No, of course it's not worth it. Look how much you've gained from the truth. Legolas, Malina, Caranduin. Your memories of your family. Many other friends, as well._

She sighed and dismounted. It had grown quite dark, now. She knew that she should get some sleep. But she wanted to keep going, find Agarlach.

_Is it wrong for me to still feel loyalty to my old friends from Mordor? _she wondered as she prepared to sleep. _Or is it right?_

That night, her dreams were once again haunted with memories of her former friends in Mordor. She had difficulty sleeping, and spent most of the night wide awake, staring up at the stars.

The next day, she felt tired, but began travelling again anyways, driven by some unknown urge to find her former friends. A wish that was soon granted.

She saw the smoke first, then noticeed the silence. She kept riding, and soon saw orcs, and the elleth that Merileth and Oron had described. She recognized her instantly, and, to her surprise, so did Morbein, who whinnied happily and surged forward.

The orcs all stood and turned to look at her, weapons ready, but they didn't attack, simply waited for the command that didn't come. Morbein was eager to see Agarlach again, that much was obvious to Rana.

"Easy Morbein, easy," she murmured to her mare, stroking her neck. "Easy girl."

It was Agarlach, she knew it in a heartbeat, and so did Morbein. The nearly black eyes were staring at her in slight surprise, seeming even darker than they really were in comparison to teh very fair skin. Her nose was as small as it had always been, a slight, long bump in the center of her face more than anything, and her blood red lips were parted in amazement. And, of course, Agarlach's raven black hair that fell to just past her shoulders was in the same style she always kept it in, a low ponytail.

Then the elleth smiled and looked up at her, her arms folded across her chest. "I was wondering if I would ever be seeing you again, Morwen."

"Agarlach," Rana said, dismounting and walking over to her friend, keeping a tight grip on Morbein's reigns. "It's been too long."

"I hear that you fell in with a bad crowd," Agarlach commented. "Something about the King of Gondor and the Prince of Mirkwood?"

"Oh, that," Rana said, blushing. "It's kind of a long story."

"Well, we have all the time in the world, don't we?" Agarlach replied with a smile. "Oh, I'm so glad that you found us. And now that you and I are together again, we will be invincible. Nothing can stop us!

"'Us'? What do you mean 'us'? Are the others here as well?" Rana asked. She was surprised that she hadn't yet told Agarlach that she didn't go by Morwen anymore. Morbein and Moroch, Agarlach's horse, were happily whinnying, clearly having missed each other.

"Yes, of course. Well, not now, they went off hunting for a bit, but they will be back. Oh, they'll be so happy to see you," Agarlach told her. "Oh, together we will be invincible, and Sauron's dream will become reality!"

"Agarlach," Rana said, knowing that it was time to tell her. "There's something that you should know."

"Yes Morwen, what is it?" Agarlach asked.

"I've changed," she replied simply, slightly hesitantly.

"Changed?" Agarlach echoed. "What do you mean you've changed? Oh, well I guess I should have realised it. I mean, just look at what you're wearing!"

Rana glanced down at the light green and brown tunic and leggings. Very different from what she had worn a mere two years ago, which had been red and black, like Agarlach's outfit.

"Good grief, you're starting to sound like Malinaduial!" Rana commented without thinking, instantly reminded of the pretty blonde elleth's taste for fashion. The second she realized what she had said, she immediately regretted it, however.

"Malinaduial? Who in the world is that?" Agarlach asked. "Morwen?"

Rana froze for a moment. "Well, you see that's part of what I need to tell you..."

"Agarlach!" a distant voice called.

"They're back!" Agarlach exclaimed, temporarily distracted. "Morwen, they'll be so happy to see you again!"

Rana simply nodded. She was somehow relieved that she wouldn't have to immediately explain to Agarlach exactly how much she had changed. Instead, she would contently catch up with her old friends, not caring that in Minas Tirith, she was certain to be missed by then.

* * *

><p>"This is unbelievable! Where could she be?" Legolas demanded. His concern for Rana had never been so evident as it was in that moment.<p>

"Honestly brother, could you please stop pacing? You're starting to drive me crazy!" Caranduin told Legolas as he sat beside Malinaduial, who was watching Legolas with pursed lips.

"Don't worry Legolas, we will find her, promise," Aragorn told his friend gently.

"What I want to know is, why would she leave without telling us?" Malinaduial asked thoughtfully. " mean, it's not like her! She hasn't been herself lately. Something's wrong."

"No kidding? Of course something's wrong, she's missing!" Legolas replied.

"Calm down, Legolas. You need to think," Malinaduial told him. "You're letting your emotions control you, and you will never be able to think straight if you allow that to happen."

"She's right, Laddie," Gimli agreed. "And we will find her."

"Let's see, what happened yesterday before she left?" Anwyn asked, joining in with narrowed eyes. She was obviously thinking carefully.

"We returned from our attempted trip to Lothlorien," Merileth said. "We had seen orcs and some dark-haired elleth that Rana clearly knew-"

"And she completely freaked out about it," Oron added. "She said something about her and Agarlach - that's what she said that other elleth's name was - being like twins."

"Then she went riding," Merileth finished.

"And no one has seen her since?" Anwyn asked.

"No," Malinaduial said. "She and I were supposed to help each other find dresses for Eowyn's wedding after her ride, but she never showed up."

"I wonder if maybe she went looking for this 'Agarlach'," Eowyn mused.

"That would make sense," Boromir agreed. "If she and Agarlach were such good friends, why wouldn't she go looking for her?"

"It is certainly true that she hasn't been herself lately, ever since she started having those nightmares," Malinaduial stated. "She's been haunted by her memories of Mordor recently, she told me so herself."

"Then she definitely went looking for Agarlach," Anwyn said. "She must have."

"Well, we'd better go find her then," Legolas said.

"Keeping in mind that she has at least a day's head start on us with Morbein, one of the fastest horses we know of," Caranduin reminded his brother.

"I don't care," Legolas said. "All I want is for her to be safe. Are you coming or not?"

"Fine, but I hope you realize that bringing her back safely might not be as easy as you think it will be," Malinaduial warned. Legolas merely shrugged and left.

"We'd better go keep him out of trouble," Anwyn muttered.

"That just might be a good idea," Boromir agreed.


End file.
